Of Fears And Friends
by frangipani blossom
Summary: Takes place after Fail-safe. Based on the scene in which Wally jumps after Robin when he's about falling in that alien mother ship. Wally/Dick friendship.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi guys! Here is my second Young Justice - fanfic! :) I re-watched 'failsafe' recently and I always liked the scene where Wally jumped after Robin when he is about falling from that platform in that alien mother ship. And because nobody wrote about this (at least I never stumbled upon such a story), I decided to write one myself :) **

**I hope you'll enjoy.**

**I do not own anything... unfortunately...**

**By the way, the story starts with Wally seeing how his best friend is sliding across the platform...**

Of Fears And Friends

Chapter 1

No, not his best friend, too! NO. He wouldn't let that happen... - it was bad enough that he hadn't saved Artemis – hadn't pushed her out of the way, hadn't run in front of her – but he WOULD NOT let these … these _aliens _take Dick away from him as well!

Wally hurried forward, threw himself on his knees and reached for Robin's arm, grabbing the little bird's hand.

Of course, he knew that this wouldn't help much – if at all – but he'd be damned if he didn't at least **try**.

The dark-haired boy already slipped over the edge, dragging the older teen with him. Wally knew he only had a second to find something to hold on and prevent them from falling; at least being a speedster would come in handy now...

But he couldn't get a grip on anything. The surface of the ground was just too smooth and there was no way he would be able to grip that slippery edge... No!... The redhead felt he was falling...

THUD!

"Aaahgh..." the red-haired speedster groaned, finding himself on the floor of his room, tangled in his blanket. Remembering what had happened, Wally sat up slowly, trying to breath more evenly to calm himself. 'It was just a dream,' he kept saying in his mind, 'no need to freak out like that...'

It didn't help. He could still see Dick's face before him; his masked eyes not giving away much of his feelings, but his mouth slightly open, like he was surprised.

Strangely, he hadn't looked afraid, at all. Wally, on the contrary, had been scared out of his mind; a thousand thoughts had been racing through his brain: his whole life flashed before his eyes - remembering things he regretted having done, things he regretted not having done...

'_I wonder if Artemis is having any nightmares...?_' flashed through his mind.

But he quickly became focused again.

Why hadn't Dick looked frightened? Sure, Wally himself hadn't really been scared (at least not so much that he couldn't hide it) when Dick and he had been trapped in the mother ship, he had known by then that they couldn't survive; of course it had been scary even at that time, but he had been somewhat prepared for that...

However, during that fall? He had been caught completely off-guard... he hadn't been able to control his reactions, neither physical, nor emotional...

But Dick? He had looked a little astonished, but nothing more...

Then again, Dick had reacted completely collected throughout the entire mission...-' _simulation_', Wally corrected himself, '_it wasn't real, after all_...'

How could the thirteen-year-old have been so calm? Though maybe the better question was: had the thirteen-year-old boy been Dick? Or Robin?

Well, Robin and Dick were very much alike... but there was still a fine line between them, there had to be; no normal kid of the age of nine (the age Dick had been when Robin had started fighting crime) would be able to handle the situations the Boy Wonder had to face in such a screwed up city like Gotham was.

Wally knew that already- of course he did, he had even noticed that before Dick had told him his secret identity...

For a short moment Wally wondered why even he racked his brains over it, when it began to dawn on him: Dick and Robin had very different ways to deal with an issue...

Robin was more analytical than Dick. He was the strategist of the team, after all. He approached a problem very rational, ignoring his feelings most of the time...

Dick on the other hand... He was quite emotional. Sensitive. Not in a touchy-feely- or whiny-way, no. But he didn't bother concealing his emotions as much as others did (for example like a certain Bat...). And he was much more of a kid than Robin was. Sure, Robin would crack a joke from time to time or laugh his weird cackle when he was disappearing; but he still was always focused on the mission, always serious, mature. It was Dick, who came up with the strangest words, added them to his wide vocabulary and then actually used them. It was Dick, with whom Wally had played a lot of the craziest pranks, driving their mentors nearly insane. It was Dick, whom he played video games with and it was Dick, with whom he did all the things that brothers did (at least what he guessed brothers did together).

Dick was also more vulnerable than his crime-fighting self. The loss of his parents was present to him everyday and even though he was someone who looked ahead and made the best of everything, he was wounded.

And of course, sometimes he was plagued by self-doubt – which teenage hero wasn't? - though with **the** Batman as his mentor, it was probably even harder for him...

And Wally realized that his best friend had been in "Robin-mood" the whole time during the simulation, otherwise he couldn't have made the decisions he had made without breaking under the responsibility he had been burdened with... but what will happen when he wasn't Robin anymore? Wally had seen his pal when they had awaken from their "training" - the bird had had a hard time pulling himself together, avoiding his team mates' glances (in spite of the shades), his forehead covered in sweat...

Not really realizing what he was doing, the speedster almost jumped into his sneakers, grabbed the nearest hoody in his reach and sped in direction of Gotham City.

**Like it, hate it? I'd be very happy about reviews! ;)**

**I have already finished the next chapter but I'm going to be on a school trip until Friday night, so you guys will have to wait till Saturday... but I'll post asap, I promise!**

**P.S: If anyone found grammatical mistakes, please tell me; English is not my mother tongue, so I still have some difficulties every now and then...**


	2. Chapter 2

**Yay, I'm back! Five days without the Internet is kind of... disturbing... ;)**

**Therefore it was even nicer to go online and find all these kind reviews and faves! Thanks! :)**

**Anyway, here is the second chapter, I hope you'll like it!**

**And still, I do not own anything...**

Chapter 2

Wally ran. Fast. Of course, as the fastest boy alive that should be kind of obvious. And even though he enjoyed running right now, because it liberated him from his nightmare, he wasn't entirely certain _why_ he ran.

Wally zipped past the 'Gotham City' sign.

'Well, now it's too late to go back anyway...' he thought and kept on running, before he skidded to a halt right in front of Wayne Manor.

'Whooa...' Wally stared in awe at the mansion. Dick lived _here_? Sure, Wally had always known that, as Bruce Wayne's ward, his best friend would reside in Wayne Manor, but actually seeing that place...

Maybe going back wasn't such a bad idea...

'- No, I want to know if Dick is alright...' Wally thought, sincerely hoping that his friend didn't suffer from nightmares like his own.

The speedster carefully opened the garden gate and followed the path to the entry door, until he stood right in front of it.

Wally lifted his right arm to knock at the door. But right in the middle of the movement he stopped, thinking:

'Oh my God, what am I doing here? I can't just knock at the door of Batman's/Bruce Wayne's residence after midnight! I'm not even supposed to know Batman's secret identity! And what should I say? 'Sorry for the disturbance, Bats! I have just been in the neighborhood and thought I could pay you and Dick a short visit – you sure don't mind, do you?' -Yeah, _that_ wouldn't be awkward at all...'

The red-haired teen groaned in frustration; Why was everything always so difficult with the Bats?

But then an idea stroke him: Maybe there was an open window somewhere?

And in the blink of an eye, Wally zipped around the mansion, looking for a window that wasn't locked – with no success.

'Well, it would have been weird if I had been able to break into Batman's home...' The young crime-fighter reasoned.

Discouraged, Wally sat down in front of the door, kicking pebbles of the garden path and started debating with himself whether he should just return home or not...

"Master Wallace, I suppose?" sounded a voice from behind him, making Wally jump and nearly giving him a heart attack.

The teen spun around so fast that he almost got dizzy (and being a speedster, that certainly meant something) and looked at an elderly man, who probably was the butler of the mansion (at least Wally thought so after examining the man's clothes).

"I'm Wally, yeah..." the redhead stuttered, caught completely by surprise.

"And what coincidence do we owe your visit tonight?" the butler asked politely, appearing unfazed by Wally's stammering and fidgeting.

A thousand thoughts raced through the 15-year-old's head, millions of excuses were made up and rejected, when suddenly, a name came to his mind.

"Are you Alfred?" Wally blurted out, noticing too late how rude he must have sounded.

"Indeed, I am." Alfred, the butler, confirmed, not looking surprised at all that the teenager knew his name.

Wally was, for once, speechless.

"I am afraid Master Bruce is still out due to his nocturnal 'activities' and Master Richard has already gone to bed, though I do not know if he is already asleep." Alfred told Wally, trying to get the teen to say something.

Finally, the red-haired boy caught himself: "Oh... Well... I didn't want to disturb anyone... just wanted to check on Dick... but when he's already sleeping...

I may better go home..." he finished lamely, not really wanting to head home, not when he had finally (somewhat) found a way to get to talk to Dick...

Alfred didn't seem to buy his not in the least convincing excuse and raised an eyebrow in disbelief (barely noticeable of course, but Wally saw it nonetheless).

The redhead cleared his throat, feeling uncomfortable: "Though it wouldn't hurt to just make sure, right?" He looked at the elder man helplessly.

"That sounds perfectly reasonable to me," the butler agreed, the corners of his mouth slightly twitching.

A relieved grin flashed over Wally's features before he followed Alfred inside Wayne Manor.

**So, what do you think of this second chapter? Did I do Alfred justice (bad pun, I know... ;) ? 'Cause he's like the coolest character ever and I barely know him... except that he's totally asterous, of course...**


	3. Chapter 3

**Here we go, the third and last chapter! A big THANK YOU to all of you who read, followed, faved and/or reviewed this story! You guys are awesome :D**

**And I still do not own anything... obviously...**

Chapter 3

"Whooa...!" That was all Wally could say when he entered the entrance hall of the mansion. This room was certainly at least three times as big as his whole bedroom! On the walls were hanging some expensive looking oil paintings and there was this fancy-looking vase right next to Wally...

"I would appreciate it if you did not touch this vase, Master Bruce is quite attached to it. It has been his mother's favourite..." Alfred said calmly, while heading for the stairs, his back facing the speedster.

Sheepishly, the redhead pulled his hand back; he hadn't even noticed that he had been reaching for the vase.

When the butler arrived at the bottom of the huge stairs, he stood and turned around.

"Master Richard's bedroom is on the left-hand side, at the end of the hallway." The elderly man told Wally, motioning upstairs.

The red-haired teen thanked Alfred and went upstairs, following the butler's direction. While walking down the corridor, Wally took a look at the paintings and, to his amusement, photographs (most of them showed little Dickey) that were hanging on the walls (he made a mental note to himself to scan the photos for any possible blackmailing material later).

When the young crime-fighter reached his best friend's door, he stayed silent for a moment, trying to figure out if there was any sign of Dick being already asleep or not. No sound came from inside the room, which probably meant that the bird wasn't awake anymore, but the light seemed to be switched on inside, Wally could tell by the faint glow underneath the door.

'Well, now that you're already here, you might as well just go in there and see for yourself.' He thought and knocked gently, slowly opening the door.

"Dick? It's me, Wally..."

No response.

"Are you awake?"

Wally stepped inside Dick's bedroom. The brightly colored room was only illuminated by a bedside lamp, which also threw light on a certain bird's sleeping features.

The acrobat seemed to have made his homework until he had fallen asleep; numerous textbooks, notebooks and sheets of paper were spread on the bed around him.

Suddenly feeling like an intruder, Wally tiptoed back to the door. When he was already opening it, Dick started to stir, sending some of the papers flying to the floor. His breathing became unsteady and a groan escaped his lips.

"Dick?" Wally asked slightly worried, shutting the door again.

The fidgeting got even more anxious.

"No...no... I'm sorry... didn't mean to... no...!" The ebony-haired boy slurred, his words getting more and more accurately, but also sounding more hysterically.

"Dick, calm down. Everything's alright." The redhead whispered in a consoling voice, approaching his best friend slowly.

It didn't help. Instead, the younger teen twitched even more restlessly, sweat forming on his forehead.

The moaning became even more desperate: "...I'm sorry...don't...no!... my fault... 'm sorry...it's all my fault..."

Wally couldn't take it any longer and started shaking his friend: "Dick! Dick, wake up!"

The bird shot up, looking around frantically, until his eyes settled on Wally. Relief flashed over Dick's face when he recognized his friend, but his eyes were clouded with something... was it... guilt?

"What are you doing here?" The thirteen-year-old asked, his breathing slowly becoming steady again.

"Well..." Wally stuttered a little embarrassed, "I had this... nightmare, you see... and...I thought... I could just...y'know... check on you?"

By now, the speedster's face was almost as red as his hair.

Dick didn't seem to notice: "A nightmare?"

Wally shook his head affirmative.

"Because of... the training exercise?"

"Yeah." The red-haired teen nodded, feeling kind of stupid now.

"When we were... dying?" Dick whispered, his eyes glued on his calculus book.

"No."

The dark-haired boy looked up: "No?"

"No... it was about our... fall..."

"Our fall? Not our... deaths?" By now, Dick was completely confused.

"Yeah, the fall." Wally saw the disbelieving look on his best pal's face.

"No, really! I think it was way scarier than... well... our last minutes. I mean.. we both knew that there was no way out and that we had tried everything we could have done and... sometimes it is just not enough... But that is a risk you have to take when you want to be a hero, it is a risk _every _single one of us is aware of..." Wally shrugged, not noticing how Dick slightly loosened up.

"But during that fall... it took me by surprise and everything was... quite literally, in the air... And... I don't know... I just was scared. And after that dream I remembered that you weren't frightened at all... and... I thought that maybe you'd be overwhelmed by all the events later... and after that I just came here to look if you were alright... though I'm not supposed to know your secret identity...well, I didn't really think that through, did I?" Wally decided to stop stuttering and gave a sheepish lopsided grin.

"I just wasn't afraid because I knew that I had my grappling gun with me, though I admit that I've been surprised that you jumped after me..." Dick explained.

"Dude, best friends just don't let their pals slip over an edge in a mother ship of some hostile aliens!" Wally exclaimed, making the little bird crack a smile.

The two friends shared a moment of comfortable silence.

But soon, Wally broke it: "So?"

The ebony-haired teen knitted his eyebrows in confusion: "So... what?"

"How do you cope with... it?"

"I'll manage." '_Hopefully_,' Dick thought to himself.

Now it was Wally's turn to raise an eyebrow in disbelief: "Dick. I'm not a total idiot; I was the one to wake you from your nightmare, remember?"

The acrobat sighed in defeat, slumping his shoulders: "I know... it's just... I'm kinda used to nightmares... I'm sure I'll be able to deal with that new one sooner or later..."

"Hopefully sooner than later. Do you wanna talk about it?"

Dick shook his head: "Not yet... But... thanks."

"No thing, man. But if you want to talk about it... I'm here. And in case you don't want to 'bother' me," Wally added, knowing his friend just too well, "talk to at least **someone**. Bat- Bruce or Alfred or Canary or _anyone_... just don't let it eat you up, okay?"

"Yeah, Mom..." Dick rolled his eyes, but understood exactly what the redhead meant.

Wally only grinned.

Then he remembered something: "Oh yeah by the way, why wasn't Alfred surprised that I showed up here?"

The dark-haired crime-fighter smirked: "You remember when I told you my secret I.D.?"

Wally shrugged: "Sure."

"Well, I told Bruce afterwards. After all, there is no way to keep secrets from Batman, right?"

Wally appeared being close to having a fit:"You mean, I freaked myself out for nothing when I was about knocking at the door of someone I wasn't supposed to know of!"

Dick laughed: "It seems that way."

"Dude! I'm **so** going to look for blackmailing material on that nice photographs that are hanging on the hallway's wall!"

The bird didn't seem threatened at all: "If you do that, I'll tell everyone that you slept with a night light till you were almost eleven!"

"You wouldn't dare!"

"Try me?"

Silence.

Wally couldn't help but ask: "What did you hack to find that out, anyway?"

Dick smirked: "There were no hacking skills required to find that out..."

"Huh?"

"Flash was so kind and told me..."

"Uncle Barry? He is going to be in so much trouble the next time I see him..."

**END**

**I hope you all enjoyed it :)**

**Vacations are close and would love to write something in that time (because writing is not that much fun when you still have all kinds of tests and presentations and all that stuff... ;) . I'm playing with an idea about Nightwing and Robin (Tim) but unfortunately, I don't know Tim very well... Therefore, I'm not sure if I'll actually do that, so if you have some ideas (something about Dick, Wally and/or Artemis, etc.) I could write about, I would be very grateful :) **


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